CMOS imager and method of formation

ABSTRACT

One or more deep-array implants under the photosensitive region of a semiconductor substrate are conducted to improve optical cross-talk between pixel cells. According to an embodiment of the present invention, one or more deep-array implants of a first conductivity type are used to dope predefined regions of a well of a second conductivity type. This way, first conductivity type dopants from the one or more deep-array implants counterdope second conductivity type dopants from the predefined regions of the well. The dosage and energy of each deep-array implant may be optimized so that the collection of signal carriers by the photosensitive region and the photoresponse for different wavelengths are maximized.

This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 09/941,554,filed Aug. 30, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,608,338, the subject matter ofwhich is incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to improved semiconductor imaging devicesand, in particular, to CMOS imagers with improved color separation andsensitivity.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The semiconductor industry currently uses different types ofsemiconductor-based imagers, such as charge coupled devices (CCDs),photodiode arrays, charge injection devices and hybrid focal planearrays, among others.

CCD technology is often used for image acquisition and has a number ofadvantages which makes it the preferred technology, particularly forsmall size imaging applications. CCDs are capable of large formats withsmall pixel size and they employ low noise charge domain processingtechniques. CCD imagers suffer, however, from a number of disadvantages.For example, they are susceptible to radiation damage, they exhibitdestructive read-out over time, they require good light shielding toavoid image smear and they have a high power dissipation for largearrays. In addition, while offering high performance, CCD arrays aredifficult to integrate with CMOS processing in part due to a differentprocessing technology and to their high capacitances, complicating theintegration of on-chip drive and signal processing electronics with theCCD array. Further, CCDs may suffer from incomplete charge transfer frompixel to pixel which results in image smear.

Because of the inherent limitations in CCD technology, CMOS imagers havebeen increasingly used as low cost imaging devices. A fully compatibleCMOS sensor technology enabling a higher level of integration of animage array with associated processing circuits would be beneficial tomany digital applications such as, for example, in cameras, scanners,machine vision systems, vehicle navigation systems, video telephones,computer input devices, surveillance systems, auto focus systems, startrackers, motion detection systems, image stabilization systems and datacompression systems for high-definition television.

CMOS imagers have several advantages over CCD imagers, such as, forexample, low voltage operation and low power consumption, compatibilitywith integrated on-chip electronics (control logic and timing, imageprocessing, and signal conditioning such as A/D conversion), randomaccess to the image data, and lower fabrication costs. Additionally, lowpower consumption is achieved for CMOS imagers because only one row ofpixels at a time needs to be active during the readout and there is nocharge transfer (and associated switching) from pixel to pixel duringimage acquisition. On-chip integration of electronics is particularlyadvantageous because of the potential to perform many signalconditioning functions in the digital domain (versus analog signalprocessing) as well as to achieve a reduction in system size and cost.

A CMOS imager circuit includes a focal plane array of pixel cells, eachone of the cells including either a photogate, photoconductor or aphotodiode overlying a doped region of a substrate for accumulatingphoto-generated charge in the underlying portion of the substrate. Areadout circuit is connected to each pixel cell and includes at least anoutput field effect transistor formed in the substrate and a chargetransfer section formed on the substrate adjacent the photogate,photoconductor or photodiode having a sensing node, typically a floatingdiffusion node, connected to the gate of an output transistor. Theimager may include at least one electronic device such as a transistorfor transferring charge from the charge accumulation region of thesubstrate to the floating diffusion node and one device, also typicallya transistor, for resetting the node to a predetermined charge levelprior to charge transference.

In a CMOS imager, the active elements of a pixel cell perform thenecessary functions of: (1) photon to charge conversion; (2)accumulation of image charge; (3) transfer of charge to the floatingdiffusion node accompanied by charge amplification; (4) resetting thefloating diffusion node to a known state before the transfer of chargeto it; (5) selection of a pixel for readout; and (6) output andamplification of a signal representing pixel charge. Photo charge may beamplified when it moves from the initial charge accumulation region tothe floating diffusion node. The charge at the floating diffusion nodeis typically converted to a pixel output voltage by a source followeroutput transistor. The photosensitive element of a CMOS imager pixel istypically either a depleted p-n junction photodiode or a field induceddepletion region beneath a photogate. For photodiodes, image lag can beeliminated by completely depleting the photodiode upon readout.

A schematic view of an exemplary CMOS imaging circuit is illustrated inFIG. 1. As it will be described below, the CMOS imaging circuit includesa photogate for accumulating photo-generated charge in an underlyingportion of the substrate. It should be understood, however, that theCMOS imager may include a photodiode or other image to charge convertingdevice, in lieu of a photogate, as the initial accumulator forphoto-generated charge.

FIG. 1 shows a simplified photodetector circuit for a pixel cell 14 ofan exemplary CMOS imager using a photogate and a readout circuit 60. Itshould be understood that while FIG. 1 shows the circuitry for operationof a single pixel, in practical use there will be an M×N array of pixelsarranged in rows and columns with the pixels of the array accessed usingrow and column select circuitry, as described in more detail below.

The pixel cell 14 is shown in part as a cross-sectional view of asemiconductor substrate 16, which is typically a p-type silicon, havinga surface well of p-type material 20. An optional layer 18 of p-typematerial may be used, if desired. Substrate 16 may be formed of Si,SiGe, Ge, or GaAs, among others. Typically, the entire semiconductorsubstrate 16 is a p-type doped silicon substrate including a surfacep-well 20 (with layer 18 omitted), but many other options are possible,such as, for example p on p− substrates, p on p+ substrates, p-wells inn-type substrates or the like.

An insulating layer 22 of silicon dioxide, for example, is formed on theupper surface of p-well 20. The p-type layer may be a p-well formed insubstrate 16. A photogate 24, thin enough to pass radiant energy or of amaterial which passes radiant energy, is formed on the insulating layer22. The photogate 24 receives an applied control signal PG which causesthe initial accumulation of pixel charges in n+ region 26. An n+ typeregion 26, adjacent to one side of the photogate 24, is formed in theupper surface of p-well 20. A transfer gate 28 is formed on insulatinglayer 22 between the n+ type region 26 and a second n+ type region 30formed in p-well 20. The n+ regions 26 and 30 and transfer gate 28 forma charge transfer transistor 29 which is controlled by a transfer signalTX. The n+ region 30 is typically called a floating diffusion region.The n+ region 30 is also a node for passing charge accumulated thereatto the gate of a source follower transistor 36 described below.

A reset gate 32 is also formed on insulating layer 22 adjacent andbetween the n+ type region 30 and another n+ region 34 which is alsoformed in p-well 20. The reset gate 32 and n+ regions 30 and 34 form areset transistor 31 which is controlled by a reset signal RST. The n+type region 34 is coupled to voltage source V_(DD), of for example, 5volts. The transfer and reset transistors 29, 31 are n-channeltransistors as described in this implementation of a CMOS imager circuitin a p-well. As known in the art, it is also possible to implement aCMOS imager in an n-well, in which case each of the transistors would bep-channel transistors. It should also be noted that, while FIG. 1 showsthe use of a transfer gate 28 and associated transistor 29, thisstructure provides advantages, but is not required.

Pixel cell 14 also includes two additional n-channel transistors, asource follower transistor 36 and a row select transistor 38.Transistors 36, 38 are coupled in series, source to drain, with thesource of transistor 36 also coupled over lead 40 to voltage sourceV_(DD) and the drain of transistor 38 coupled to a lead 42. The drain ofthe row select transistor 38 is connected via conductor 42 to the drainsof similar row select transistors for other pixels in a given pixel row.A load transistor 39 is also coupled between the drain of transistor 38and a voltage source V_(SS), of for example 0 volts. Transistor 39 iskept on by a signal V_(LN) applied to its gate.

The imager includes a readout circuit 60 (FIG. 1) which includes asignal sample and hold (S/H) circuit including a S/H n-channel fieldeffect transistor 62 and a signal storage capacitor 64 connected to thesource follower transistor 36 through row transistor 38. The other sideof the capacitor 64 is connected to a source voltage V_(SS). The upperside of the capacitor 64 is also connected to the gate of a p-channeloutput transistor 66. The drain of the output transistor 66 is connectedthrough a column select transistor 68 to a signal sample output nodeV_(OUTS) and through a load transistor 70 to the voltage supply V_(DD).A signal called “signal sample and hold” (SHS) briefly turns on the S/Htransistor 62 after the charge accumulated beneath the photogateelectrode 24 has been transferred to the floating diffusion node 30 andfrom there to the source follower transistor 36 and through row selecttransistor 38 to line 42, so that the capacitor 64 stores a voltagerepresenting the amount of charge previously accumulated beneath thephotogate electrode 24.

The readout circuit 60 also includes a reset sample and hold (S/H)circuit including a S/H transistor 72 and a signal storage capacitor 74connected through the S/H transistor 72 and through the row selecttransistor 38 to the source of the source follower transistor 36. Theother side of the capacitor 74 is connected to the source voltageV_(SS). The upper side of the capacitor 74 is also connected to the gateof a p-channel output transistor 76. The drain of the output transistor76 is connected through a p-channel column select transistor 78 to areset sample output node V_(OUTR) and through a load transistor 80 tothe supply voltage V_(DD). A signal called “reset sample and hold” (SHR)briefly turns on the S/H transistor 72 immediately after the resetsignal RST has caused reset transistor 31 to turn on and reset thepotential of the floating diffusion node 30, so that the capacitor 74stores the voltage to which the floating diffusion node 30 has beenreset.

The readout circuit 60 provides correlated sampling of the potential ofthe floating diffusion node 30, first of the reset charge applied tonode 30 by the reset transistor 31 and then of the stored charge fromthe photogate 24. The two samplings of the diffusion node 30 chargesproduce respective output voltages V_(OUTR) and V_(OUTS) of the readoutcircuit 60. These voltages are then subtracted (V_(OUTS)−V_(OUTR)) bysubtractor 82 to provide an output signal terminal 81 which is an imagesignal independent of pixel to pixel variations caused by fabricationvariations in the reset voltage transistor 31 which might cause pixel topixel variations in the output signal.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram for a CMOS imager having a pixelarray 200 with each pixel cell being constructed in a manner similar tothat of pixel cell 14 of FIG. 1. Pixel array 200 comprises a pluralityof pixels arranged in a predetermined number of columns and rows. Thepixels of each row in array 200 are all turned on at the same time by arow select line, such as line 86, and the pixels of each column areselectively output by a column select line, such as line 42. A pluralityof rows and column lines are provided for the entire array 200. The rowlines are selectively activated by the row driver 210 in response to rowaddress decoder 220 and the column select lines are selectivelyactivated by the column driver 260 in response to column address decoder270. Thus, a row and column address is provided for each pixel. The CMOSimager is operated by the control circuit 250 which controls addressdecoders 220, 270 for selecting the appropriate row and column lines forpixel readout, and row and column driver circuitry 210, 260 which applydriving voltage to the drive transistors of the selected row and columnlines.

FIG. 3 shows a simplified timing diagram for the signals used totransfer charge out of pixel cell 14 of the CMOS imager of FIG. 1. Thephotogate signal PG is nominally set to 5V and pulsed from 5V to 0Vduring integration. The reset signal RST is nominally set at 2.5V. Asillustrated in FIG. 3, the process begins at time t₀ by briefly pulsingreset voltage RST to 5V. The RST voltage, which is applied to the gate32 of the reset transistor 31, causes transistor 31 to turn on and thefloating diffusion node 30 to charge to the V_(DD) voltage present at n+region 34 (less the voltage drop V_(TH) of transistor 31). This resetsthe floating diffusion node 30 to a predetermined voltage(V_(DD)−V_(TH)). The charge on the floating diffusion node 30 is appliedto the gate of the source follower transistor 36 to control the currentpassing through transistor 38, which has been turned on by a row select(ROW) signal, and load transistor 39. This current is translated into avoltage on line 42 which is next sampled by providing a SHR signal tothe S/H transistor 72, which charges capacitor 74 with the sourcefollower transistor output voltage on line 42 representing the resetcharge present at floating diffusion node 30. The PG signal is nextpulsed to 0 volts, causing charge to be collected in n+ region 26.

A transfer gate voltage TX, similar to the reset pulse RST, is thenapplied to transfer gate 28 of transistor 29 to cause the charge in n+region 26 to transfer to floating diffusion node 30. It should beunderstood that, for the case of a photogate, the transfer gate voltageTX may be pulsed or held to a fixed DC potential. For the implementationof a photodiode with a transfer gate, the transfer gate voltage TX mustbe pulsed. The new output voltage on line 42 generated by sourcefollower transistor 36 current is then sampled onto capacitor 64 byenabling the sample and hold switch 62 by signal SHS. The column selectsignal is next applied to transistors 68 and 70 and the respectivecharges stored in capacitors 64 and 74 are subtracted in subtractor 82to provide a pixel output signal at terminal 81. It should also be notedthat CMOS imagers may dispense with the transfer gate 28 and associatedtransistor 29, or retain these structures while biasing the transfertransistor 29 to an always “on” state.

FIG. 4 shows a 2×2 portion of pixel array 200 illustrated schematicallyin FIG. 2. Pixel array 200 comprises a plurality of pixels arranged in apredetermined number of columns and rows. The pixels of each row inarray 200 are all turned on at the same time by a row select line, forexample, line 86, and the pixels of each column are selectively outputby a column select line, e.g., line 42. A plurality of rows and columnlines are provided for the entire array 200. The row lines areselectively activated by the row driver 210 in response to row addressdecoder 220 and the column select lines are selectively activated by thecolumn driver 260 in response to column address decoder 270. Thus, a rowand column address is provided for each pixel. The CMOS imager isoperated by the control circuit 250 which controls address decoders 220,270 for selecting the appropriate row and column lines for pixelreadout, and row and column driver circuitry 210, 260 which applydriving voltage to the drive transistors of the selected row and columnlines.

Quantum efficiency is a problem in some imager applications due to thediffusion of signal carriers out of the photosite and into thesubstrate, where they become effectively lost. The loss of signalcarriers results in decreased signal strength, increased cross-talk, andthe reading of an improper value for the adjacent pixels.

There is needed, therefore, an improved pixel sensor cell for use in animager that exhibits improved color separation, improved quantumefficiency, a better signal-to-noise ratio, and reduced cross-talk. Amethod of fabricating a pixel sensor cell exhibiting these improvementsis also needed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a method for improving the cross talkbetween pixel sensor cells of CMOS imagers. According to the presentinvention, optical cross-talk between pixel cells is improved byconducting one or more deep-array implants under the photosensitiveregion of a semiconductor substrate. According to an embodiment of thepresent invention, one or more deep-array implants of a firstconductivity type are used to dope predefined regions of a well of asecond coductivity type. This way, first conductivity type dopants fromthe one or more deep-array implants counterdope second conductivity typedopants from the predefined regions of the well. The dosage and energyof each deep-array implant may be optimized so that the collection ofsignal carriers by the photosensitive region and the photoresponse fordifferent wavelengths are maximized.

Additional advantages and features of the present invention will beapparent from the following detailed description and drawings whichillustrate preferred embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a representative circuit of a active pixel cell of a CMOSimaging system.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a CMOS pixel sensor chip.

FIG. 3 is a representative timing diagram of a CMOS imager.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional and schematic view of a color pixel.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional and schematic view of two pixel cellsfabricated in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the pixel cells of FIG. 4 at a stageof processing subsequent to that shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 illustrates the dopant concentration as a function of surfacedepth of the well of the pixel cells of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the pixel cells of FIG. 4 at a stageof processing subsequent to that shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the pixel cells of FIG. 4 at a stageof processing subsequent to that shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the pixel cells of FIG. 4 at astage of processing subsequent to that shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 illustrates the dopant concentration as a function of surfacedepth of the well of the pixel cells of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of three pixel cells fabricated inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an illustration of a computer system having a CMOS imagerwith pixel cells formed according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which is shown byway of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may bepracticed. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail toenable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is tobe understood that other embodiments may be utilized, and thatstructural, logical and electrical changes may be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the present invention.

The terms “wafer” and “substrate” are to be understood as asemiconductor-based material including silicon-on-insulator (SOI) orsilicon-on-sapphire (SOS) technology, doped and undoped semiconductors,epitaxial layers of silicon supported by a base semiconductorfoundation, and other semiconductor structures. Furthermore, whenreference is made to a “wafer” or “substrate” in the followingdescription, previous process steps may have been utilized to formregions or junctions in the base semiconductor structure or foundation.In addition, the semiconductor need not be silicon-based, but could bebased on silicon-germanium, germanium, or gallium arsenide.

The term “pixel” refers to a picture element unit cell containing aphotosensor and transistors for converting electromagnetic radiation toan electrical signal. For purposes of illustration, a representativepixel is illustrated in the figures and description herein and,typically, fabrication of all pixels in an imager will proceedsimultaneously in a similar fashion.

The term “well” refers to a doped region in a substrate where the peakconcentration of the dopant is lower than that of the electricallyactive region of any device which may be eventually formed in the well.

Referring now to the drawings, where like elements are designated bylike reference numerals, FIGS. 5-12 illustrate exemplary embodiments ofmethods of forming pixel cells 100 a, 100 b, 100 c (FIG. 12) in a well20 having three well regions 20 a, 20 b, 20 c corresponding to red, blueand green sensing areas of an imager (FIG. 12). Each of the three wellregions 20 a, 20 b, 20 c can be optimized a particular correspondingcolor sensing area, that is, have an optimized doping concentrationprofile for sensing a red, blue or green light wavelength. FIGS. 5-12depict formation of one particular well for a pixel, where an initialdopant concentration is changed, but it should be understood that thesame processing techniques also can apply for the other wells to tailorthe doping profiles to optimize a sensing operation for a particularlight wavelenght.

FIG. 5 illustrates a substrate 16, which may be any of the types ofsubstrates described above. Although reference to the substrate 16 willbe made in this application as to a p-type silicon substrate 16, it mustbe understood that many other options are possible, for example, p on p−substrates, or p on p+ substrates, SOI, or the like. Further, theinvention has equal application to other semiconductor substrates, forexample, silicon-germanium, germanium, silicon-on-saphire, orgallium-arsenide substrates, among many others.

Next, as illustrated in FIG. 6, a first well 20 is formed in the p-typesilicon substrate 16 and over the entire wafer by suitable means, forexample blanket ion implantation. The layer or well 20 is of a firstconductivity type, which, as mentioned above, is treated as p-type.Although the invention will be described with the first p-type well 20formed before the formation of the isolation regions, the first p-typewell 20 may be also implanted at a later stage of the process, forexample after field oxide formation. The implant may be patterned sothat the pixel array well and the periphery logic well, which containslogic circuits for transferring charge from the pixel array, could havedifferent doping profiles.

Ion implantation is performed by placing the p-type silicon substrate 16in an ion implanter, and implanting appropriate dopant ions into thep-type silicon substrate 16 at an energy of 10 keV to 5 MeV to form thefirst p-type well 20. In an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, the first p-type well 20 (FIG. 6) is formed at a depth D₁ ofabout 1 micron to about 8 microns, more preferably of about 2 micron toabout 6 microns, from a substrate surface 17 (FIG. 6). The depth D₁ maybe adjusted, however, according to the device characteristics, so thatthe electron-hole pairs corresponding to pixel sensor cells 100 a, 100 b(FIG. 12) are contained within the perimeter of the first p-type well20.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the first p-typewell 20 (FIG. 6) has a uniform dopant concentration. To betterillustrate the characteristics of the first p-type well 20, reference ismade to FIG. 7 which depicts the concentration of boron (B) atoms percm³ of the first p-type well 20 as a function of the implantation depth.As illustrated in FIG. 7, the first p-type well 20 has a first dopingconcentration profile 21 which is substantially uniform. The dopantconcentration C₁s (FIG. 7) at the top of the first p-type well 20, thatis at the surface level S (FIG. 8), is about the same as the dopantconcentration C₁d (FIG. 7) at the bottom of the first p-type well 20,that is at the depth D₁ (FIGS. 6-7).

The dopant concentration at the top and bottom of the first p-type well20 is within the range of about 1×10¹⁶ to about 2×10¹⁸ atoms per cm³,and is preferably within the range of about 2×10¹⁶ to about 1×10¹⁸ atomsper cm³, and most preferably is about 1×10¹⁷ atoms per cm³. As mentionedabove, if the first well 20 is to be a p-type well, a p-type dopant,such as boron or indium, is implanted, and if the first well 20 is to bean n-type well, an n-type dopant, such as arsenic, antimony, orphosphorous is implanted. The resultant structure is shown in FIG. 6. Asknown in the art, multiple high energy implants may be used to tailorthe profile of the first p-type well 20.

Next, as illustrated in FIG. 8, field oxide regions 114 are formedaround later formed pixel cells 100 a, 100 b, 100 c. The field oxideregions are formed by any known technique such as thermal oxidation ofthe underlying silicon in a LOCOS process or by etching trenches andfilling them with oxide in an STI process. Following field oxide 114formation, if the first p-type well 20 has not yet been formed, it maythen be formed by blanket implantation or by masked implantation toproduce the first p-type well 20.

Before or after formation of the first p-type well 20 and the fieldoxide regions 114, one or more deep-array implants are conducted inselected regions to adjust the first doping concentration profile 21(FIG. 7) of the first p-type well 20 of FIG. 6. The one or moredeep-array implants are of a second conductivity type, which forexemplary purposes is treated as n-type. Thus, the one or moredeep-array implants are n-type deep-array implants in selected regionsconducted to adjust the first doping concentration profile 21 (FIG. 7)of the first p-type well 20 (FIG. 8).

As shown in FIG. 9, one deep-array n-type implant is conducted in thefirst p-type well 20 of FIG. 8 in a predefined region 170 (FIG. 8) ofthe first p-type well 20 located between two neighboring field oxideregions 114. For this, the p-type silicon substrate 16 is patterned witha first pattern layer 164, preferably a photoresist mask, to createpredefined area 165 corresponding to the predefined region 170 of thefirst p-type well 20. N-type impurity dopants such as arsenic (As) orphosphorus (P), for example, are next implanted in the predefined region170 (FIG. 9) through the predefined area 165 (FIG. 9) using conventionalimplantation apparatus, such as ion implantation apparatus, and by knownmethods to one of ordinary skill in the art.

The n-type impurity dopants are implanted at an energy of 10 keV to 5MeV to form a second p-type well 22 (FIG. 10) having two differentlydoped regions: a first p-type region 20 a (FIG. 10) and a second p-typeregion 20 b (FIG. 10) which is located below the predefined area 165(FIG. 9) and corresponding to the predefined region 170. The firstp-type region 20 a has no n-type impurity dopants and, thus, its dopingconcentration profile is similar to the first doping concentrationprofile 21 (FIG. 7). In contrast, the second p-type region 20 b has anon-uniform doping concentration profile corresponding to a lower dopantconcentration due to the counterdoping of p-type impurity dopants by then-type impurity dopants from the deep-array n-type implant. The dopantconcentration of the n-type impurity dopants used in the deep-arrayimplant according to the present invention is preferably lower than theconcentration of the p-type dopants used for the formation of the firstp-type well 20, described above with reference to FIGS. 6-8.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the non-uniform dopantconcentration of the n-type impurity dopants forming the second p-typeregion 20 b (FIG. 10) is chosen to achieve a net p-type dopantconcentration Cr at the substrate surface of about 5×10¹⁴ to about1×10¹⁸, or preferably about 1×10¹⁶ to about 1×10¹⁷, and most preferablyabout 4×10¹⁶ atoms per cm³. The n-type impurity dopants diffuse in thepredefined region 170 (FIG. 9) and below the predefined area 165 (FIG.9) to counterdope the p-type impurity dopants located in the predefinedregion 170 (FIG. 9) and to cancel each other out and produce a p-typewell 20 having two differently doped regions 20 a, 20 b.

For a better understanding of the characteristics of the second p-typewell 22 of FIG. 10, reference is made to FIG. 11, which depicts theconcentration of boron (B) atoms per surface area of the second p-typewell 22 as a function of the implantation depth. As illustrated in FIG.11, the second p-type well 22 has a doping concentration profile 23which is non-uniform. The dopant concentration C₁s (FIG. 11) correspondsto the first p-type region 20 a of the second p-type well 22 of FIG. 10.The resultant dopant concentration Cr corresponds to the second p-typeregion 20 b of the second p-type well 22 of FIG. 10 and, as shown inFIG. 11, has a lower value than that corresponding to C₁s. Thus, bytailoring the dosage and energy of the deep-array n-type implant, thepresent invention provides a method of tailoring the first dopingconcentration profile 21 (FIG. 7) of the first p-type well 20 of FIG. 6to produce the non-uniform doping concentration profile 23 (FIG. 11).

Because of the lower diffusivity of the n-type dopants compared top-type dopants, during subsequent thermal processing steps, it isadvantageous to create a net p-type dopant profile as shown in FIG. 11by counter-doping a p-well with a series of n-type implants.

Subsequent to the formation of the second p-type well 22 of FIG. 10, theformation of devices of color pixel sensor cell proceed by known methodsof the art. For example, three color pixel cells 100 a, 100 b, 100 c(FIG. 12) each including the photogate 24 a, 24 b, 24 c the transfergate 28 a, 28 b, 28 c reset transistor 31 a, 31 b, 31 c the sourcefollower 36 a, 36 b, 36 c and the row select transistor 38 a, 38 b, 38 care depicted in FIG. 12. For exemplary purposes only, the three colorpixel cells 100 a, 100 b, 100 c correspond to a red color pixel cell 100a, to a blue color pixel cell 100 b, and to a green color pixel cell 100c. Accordingly, all device elements of the red color pixel cell 100 awhich will be described in more detail below are formed in the firstp-type region 20 a (FIG. 12) of the second p-type well 22 (FIG. 12). Alldevice elements of the blue color pixel cell 100 b which will bedescribed in more detail below are formed in the second p-type region 20b (FIG. 12) of the second p-type well 22 (FIG. 12). Similarly, alldevice elements of the green color pixel cell 100 c which will bedescribed in more detail below are formed in the second p-type region 20c (FIG. 12) of the second p-type well 22 (FIG. 12).

Doped regions 26 a, 26 b, 26 c, 30 a, 30 b, 30 c and 34 a, 34 b, 34 care formed in the regions 20 a, 20 b, and 20 c, respectively, of thesecond p-type well 22, and are doped to a second conductivity type,which for exemplary purposes are considered to be n-type. The dopinglevel of the doped regions 26 a, 26 b, 26 c, 30 a, 30 b, 30 c, and 34 a,34 b, 34 c may vary but should be higher than the doping level at thefirst p-type region 20 a of the second p-type well 22. If desired,multiple masks and resists may be used to dope these regions todifferent levels. Doped regions 26 a, 26 b, 26 c may be variably doped,such as either n+ or n− for an n-channel device. Doped regions 34 a, 34b, 34 c should be strongly doped, i.e., for an n-channel device, thedoped regions 34 a, 34 b will be doped as n+.

The transistor gates forming the pixel cells 100 a, 100 b, 100 c are aphotogate 24 a, 24 b, 24 c, a transfer gate 28 a, 28 b, 28 c, fortransfer transistor 29 a, 29 b, 29 c and a reset transistor gate 32 a,32 b, 32 c for the reset transistor 31 a, 31 b, 31 c. In addition, thephotosensitive element in the pixel cell 100 a, 100 b, 100 c is shown tobe a photogate 24 a, 24 b, 24 c, but other photosensitive elements suchas a photodiode or a photoconductor could be used. The transfer gate 28a, 28 b, 28 c and the reset gate 32 a, 32 b, 32 c include a gate oxidelayer 106 a, 106 b, 106 c on the second p-type well 22, and a conductivelayer 108 a, 108 b, 108 c of doped polysilicon, tungsten, or othersuitable material over the gate oxide layer 106 a, 106 b, 106 c. Aninsulating cap layer 110 a, 110 b, 110 c of, for example, silicondioxide, silicon nitride, or ONO (oxide-nitride-oxide), may be formed ifdesired; also a more conductive layer such as a silicide layer (notshown) may be used between the conductive layer 108 a, 108 b, 108 c andthe cap 110 a, 110 b, 100 c of the transfer gate stack 28 a, 28 b, 28 c,source follower gate, row select gate, and reset gate stack 32 a, 32 b,32 c, if desired. Insulating sidewalls 112 a, 112 b, 112 c are alsoformed on the sides of the gate stacks 28 a, 28 b, 28 c, 32 a, 32 b, 32c. These sidewalls may be formed of, for example, silicon dioxide orsilicon nitride or ONO. The transfer gate 28 a, 28 b, 28 c and/ortransfer transistor 29 a, 29 b, 29 c are not required but mayadvantageously be included. If they are omitted, doped region 26 a, 26b, 26 c connects with doped region 30 a, 30 b, 30 c. The photogate 24 a,24 b, 24 c is a semitransparent conductor and is shown as an overlappinggate. In this case there is a second gate oxide 105 a, 105 b, 105 c overthe well and under the photogate.

Underlying the photogate 24 a, 24 b, 24 c is the doped region 26 a, 26b, 26 c called the photosite, where photogenerated charges are stored.In between the reset transistor gate 32 a, 32 b, 32 c and the transfergate 28 a, 28 b, 28 c is a doped region 30 a, 30 b, 30 c that is thesource for the reset transistor 31 a, 31 b, 31 c, and on the other sideof the reset transistor gate 32 a, 32 b, 32 c is a doped region 34 a, 34b, 34 c that acts as a drain for the reset transistor 31 a, 31 b, 31 c.The second doped region 30 a, 30 b, 30 c is the floating diffusionregion, sometimes also referred to as a floating diffusion node. Thethird doped region 34 a, 34 b, 34 c is connected to voltage source Vdd.

As shown in FIG. 12, as light radiation 12 in the form of photonsstrikes the photosite 26 a, 26 b, 26 c, photo-energy is converted toelectrical signals, for example, carriers 120, which are stored in thephotosite 26 a, 26 b, 26 c. The absorption of light createselectron-hole pairs. For the case of an n-doped photosite in a p-well,it is the electrons that are stored. For the case of a p-doped photositein an n-well, it is the holes that are stored. In the exemplary pixelcells 100 a, 100 b, 100 c of FIG. 12 having n-channel devices formed inthe second p-type well 22, the carriers 120 stored in the photosite 26a, 26 b, 26 c are electrons.

Although the above embodiment has been explained with reference to onedeep-array n-type implant to reduce the initial p-type doping andproduce a net p-type doping in a well region, it must be understood thatthis embodiment is only illustrative and the invention also contemplatesa plurality of deep-array n-type implants for tailoring the dopingconcentration profile of all of the first p-type well 20, or of variouspredefined regions, e.g. 20 a, 20 b, 20 c, of the first p-type well 20.

In addition, although the invention has been described with reference tothe deep-array n-type implant conducted subsequent to the formation ofthe first p-type well 20, the invention also contemplates a deep-arrayn-type implant conducted simultaneously with the p-type implant for theformation of the first p-type well 20. For example, a single patternlayer, preferably a photoresist mask, may be employed to simultaneouslycreate different and separate implantation regions over thesemiconductor substrate 16. This way, n-type dopants may be implanted inthe different and separate implantation regions, either subsequently orsimultaneously, to form various doping concentration profiles.

Although only three color pixel cells 100 a, 100 b, 100 c are shown inFIG. 12, it must be understood that in fact any number of such colorpixel cells, for example, red, blue and/or green color pixel cells, maybe formed on the semiconductor substrate 16. This way, various n-typeimplants may be conducted in various predefined regions of the p-typewells corresponding to respective red, blue and green color pixel cells,to optimize the doping concentration in such respective predefinedregions of such corresponding wells, and to thereby increase the quantumefficiency of the color pixel cells. For example, because red light istypically absorbed deep in the silicon substrate, a low-energy n-typeimplant may be conducted in the p-type well located underneath the redcolor pixel cell. Of course, the dosage and energy of the n-type implantor implants also depend upon the dosage and energy of the p-type implantfor the doping of the p-type well. Similarly, because blue light istypically absorbed close to the surface of the silicon substrate, a highenergy n-type implant may be conducted in the p-type well locatedunderneath the blue color pixel cell so that all n-type impurity dopantsand parts of the p-type impurity dopants cancel each other out. Thisway, a resultant p-type well with a region having a lower dopingconcentration is formed under the blue color pixel cell to maximize thecollection of photogenerated electrons and to minimize the cross-talkbetween pixel cells.

Further, although the embodiments described above refer to the formationof a second p-type well, such as the second p-type well 22 of FIG. 12,formed by implanting an n-type dopant, such as arsenic, antimony, orphosphorous, for example, the invention is not limited to theseembodiments. Thus, if the second p-type well is to be an n-type well, ap-type dopant, such as boron, will be implanted. The profile of each ofthe p-well will be tailored as necessarily and as desired, for example,depending on whether the color pixel cell is red, blue or green.Further, if peripheral circuitry is formed in the second p-type well,the second p-type well may have a different dopant profile in theperipheral region than in the array region.

The pixel sensor cells 100 a, 100 b, 100 c are essentially complete atthis stage, and conventional processing methods may be used to formcontacts and wiring to connect gate lines and other connections in thepixel sensor cells 100 a, 100 b, 100 c. For example, the entire surfacemay then be covered with a passivation layer of, for example, silicondioxide, BSG, PSG, or BPSG, which is CMP planarized and etched toprovide contact holes, which are then metallized to provide contacts tothe photogate, reset gate, and transfer gate. Conventional multiplelayers of conductors and insulators may also be used to interconnect thestructures in the manner shown in FIG. 1.

A typical processor based system which includes a CMOS imager deviceaccording to the present invention is illustrated generally at 400 inFIG. 13. A processor based system is exemplary of a system havingdigital circuits which could include CMOS imager devices. Without beinglimiting, such a system could include a computer system, camera system,scanner, machine vision system, vehicle navigation system, videotelephone, surveillance system, auto focus system, star tracker system,motion detection system, image stabilization system and data compressionsystem for high-definition television, all of which can utilize thepresent invention.

A processor system, such as a computer system, for example generallycomprises a central processing unit (CPU) 444, for example, amicroprocessor, that communicates with an input/output (I/O) device 446over a bus 452. The CMOS imager 442 also communicates with the systemover bus 452. The computer system 400 also includes random access memory(RAM) 448, and, in the case of a computer system may include peripheraldevices such as a floppy disk drive 454 and a compact disk (CD) ROMdrive 456 which also communicate with CPU 444 over the bus 452. CMOSimager 442 is preferably constructed as an integrated circuit whichincludes pixels containing a photosensor, such as a photogate orphotodiode, formed in a well having a non-uniform doping concentrationprofile, as previously described with respect to FIGS. 5-12. The CMOSimager 442 may be combined with a processor, such as a CPU, digitalsignal processor or microprocessor, with or without memory storage in asingle integrated circuit, or may be on a different chip than theprocessor.

It should again be noted that although the invention has been describedwith specific reference to CMOS imaging circuits having a photogate anda floating diffusion region, the invention has broader applicability andmay be used in any CMOS imaging apparatus. Similarly, the processdescribed above is but one method of many that could be used. The abovedescription and drawings illustrate preferred embodiments which achievethe objects, features and advantages of the present invention. It is notintended that the present invention be limited to the illustratedembodiments. Any modification of the present invention which comeswithin the spirit and scope of the following claims should be consideredpart of the present invention.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent ofthe United States is:
 1. An imager comprising: an array of color pixelsensor cells formed in a substrate having at least one well of a firstconductivity type and having a first doping concentration, and at leasttwo regions of said well having a respective second and third dopingconcentration, said at least two regions being of said firstconductivity type, said first, second, and third doping concentrationsbeing different from each other, and wherein each pixel sensor cell hasa photosensor for sensing a respective particular color wavelength; acircuit formed in said substrate and electrically connected to saidarray for receiving and processing signals representing an image outputby said array and for providing data representing the image; and aprocessor for receiving and processing said data representing the image.2. The imager of claim 1, wherein said array, said circuit, and saidprocessor are formed on a single substrate.
 3. The imager of claim 1,wherein said array and said circuit are formed on a first substrate, andsaid processor is formed on a second substrate.
 4. The imager of claim1, wherein each pixel sensor cell further comprises a floating diffusionregion of a second conductivity type located in each of said two regionof said well.
 5. The imager of claim 1, wherein said first conductivitytype is p-type, and said second conductivity type is n-type.
 6. Theimager of claim 1, wherein said first conductivity type is n-type, andsaid second conductivity type is p-type.
 7. The imager of claim 4,wherein each pixel sensor cell further comprises a transfer gate locatedbetween said photosensor and said floating diffusion region.
 8. Theimager of claim 7, wherein said photosensor is a photogate sensor. 9.The imager of claim 7, wherein said photosensor is a photodiode sensor.10. The imager of claim 7, wherein said photosensor is a photoconductorsensor.
 11. An imager comprising: an array of color pixel sensor cellsformed in a substrate having at least one well of a first conductivitytype, a first, second and third doped regions formed in said well, saidfirst, second and third doped regions having different dopingconcentrations, wherein said first, second and third doped regions areadjacent to each other and laterally displaced relative to each other,and wherein each pixel sensor cell has a photosensor for sensing arespective particular color wavelength; a circuit formed in saidsubstrate and electrically connected to said array for receiving andprocessing signals representing an image output by said array and forproviding data representing the image; and a processor for receiving andprocessing said data representing the image.
 12. The imager of claim 11,wherein each pixel sensor cell further comprises a floating diffusionregion of a second conductivity type located in each of said first,second and third doped regions.
 13. An imager comprising: an array ofcolor pixel sensor cells formed in a substrate having at least one wellof a first conductivity type, a first, second and third doped regionsformed in said well, said first, second and third doped regions havingdifferent doping concentrations, wherein at least one of said first,second and third doped regions has a substantially uniform dopantconcentration in the range of about 1×10¹⁶ to about 2×10¹⁸ atoms percm³, wherein said first, second and third doped regions are adjacent toeach other and laterally displaced relative to each other, and whereineach pixel sensor cell has a photosensor for sensing a respectiveparticular color wavelength; a circuit formed in said substrate andelectrically connected to said array for receiving and processingsignals representing an image output by said array and for providingdata representing the image; and a processor for receiving andprocessing said data representing the image.
 14. The imager of claim 13,wherein each pixel sensor cell further comprises a floating diffusionregion of a second conductivity type located in each of said first,second and third doped regions.